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The Washington Monument (in the distance below) has a crack in it near the pinnacle and is closed to the public until further notice. The Ecuadorian Embassy suffered structural damaged with a fall of masonry, as did the tower of the Washington National Cathedral. I had a meal in the Thunder Grill in Union Station last evening and the waiter showed me that high above in the coffered ceiling of the station, there was some damage to the plasterwork. The tower of St. Patrick's Church on Broadway in Baltimore also received damage and needs repair. Our plumbing was making wierd noises this morning and I thought I saw some new cracks in the brickwork outside the front entrance of our 1920's apartment building.

Could have been much worse, obviously!

I sent an email to the admin at work today; employees were told to evacuate after the circa 1:55 pm quake though I stayed working. Most of them went across Maryland Avenue SW and waited for word. But that was the worst place for them to stand because as it happens the road at that point is built over the railway line running between Union Station and Virginia... it is in essence a bridge so could have collapsed if there had been an even worse follow-up tremor. What I advised them to tell employees was the same thing they announced a few months ago when we evacuated because of a bomb scare the nearby FCC: leave the building and walk north toward the National Mall.